Arcana Prophetia Preview

boardgamequest.com:

Note: This preview uses pre-release components and rules. What you see here may be different from the final, published game. This post was a paid preview, you can find out more information here.

Fate. It holds sway in the courts of both god and man alike. It is deterministic if you can channel its energy. It is gracious if you can bend to its will. It is what has brought you to this preview. And it is what holds power over your next move.

Arcana Prophetia is a game about fate designed by The Aerie Games. Launching on Kickstarter on May 11, it weaves a backstory of fallen gods and a pending apocalypse into ten tarot-sized cards and a cloth playmat with a grid structure. It is for two players only—one taking on the role of the Fates seeking to destroy the world. The other plays as the Last Sovereign. An underdog. And our only hope.

The game of Arcana Prophetia is played over nine rounds. Setup is simple. The playmat is smoothed out onto the table. A display of ten cards is made available to view for both players—all card abilities are shared knowledge. The Fates player chooses a Face (or a persistent game power) and the Last Sovereign chooses an Archsigil (a power that can be activated during play). These powers make each session unique and provide new tactical considerations.

To begin play, the Fates take one of the display cards and place it into the left middle court of the mat. The playmat features three rows, or courts, each labeled as low, middle, and high. It also has four columns creating a three-by-four grid. After this card is placed, the Last Sovereign places their sigil tokens onto the mat. They must be placed in separate locations.

Each round, the Last Sovereign predicts the card that is played by the Fates.